Filmonic » The Hobbit

Something is stirring in Hobbit land

Liam — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:16:57 +0000

According to Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit fansite TheOneRing.net we may be getting some information regarding the upcoming films on December 8th…

I received a mysterious email followed up by a phone call in the last few days. I don’t know much, all I know is that ‘Something is coming’ on December 8th, 2009. And that we should be watching this space and www.lordoftherings.net stay tuned for more!

Casting news? Will they announce the actor who will play Bilbo Baggins? Filming is expected to begin in just over three months so it’s bound to be something.

Although…it could have something to do with the Blu-ray edition of the trilogy we heard about earlier this year.

Brian Cox to play a dwarf in The Hobbit?

Liam — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 19:13:32 +0000

With filming expected to begin in around 4 months it’s about time we got some casting news for The Hobbit, even if it just a rumour. According to an AICN scooper Brian Cox (X-Men 2, Troy) is apparently being considered to play one of the 13 dwarves that appear in the film. The scooper says he doesn’t know if the casting is a lock, or whether Guillermo Del Toro and Peter Jackson are just interested in getting the actor on-board.

If this turns out to be true then i’ll be very happy. Brian Cox is a great actor and he’s also a Scot, which will suit Gimli’s race well. Out of all the dwarves he will most likely play either Thorin Oakenshield or Balin, as they have more prominent roles.

While on the topic of dwarf casting I hope they give Brendan Gleeson (In Bruges, Mad-Eye Moody in Harry Potter) a role. Are there any actors you could see playing a dwarf in The Hobbit?

Ian McKellen “couldn’t be happier” with The Hobbit script

Liam — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:11:45 +0000

Over the past few months we’ve been following the progress of The Hobbit script rather intensely. We got updates from Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro during the writing process, then Ian McKellen said he would receive his copy of the first draft in September, and now two months on McKellen has read the script.

Sci-Fi Wire caught up with him recently and he shared his thoughts:

“As Peter has said, they loved writing Gandalf [for The Hobbit] because they knew who they were writing him for,” McKellen told us exclusively in an interview last week while promoting AMC’s The Prisoner. “There are a lot of characters in The Hobbit, including, crucially, Bilbo, and they don’t know who’s going to play Bilbo. So it’s extremely attractive that this part has been written for me. The other Gandalf was written for, well, just as Gandalf. There’s lots for me to enjoy, in all sorts of ways. And I couldn’t be happier. But I’m sworn to secrecy. I’m not to say anything at all about the script.”
As for del Toro’s input into the new script, McKellen said that he and Jackson speak the same language. “They are the same person,” he said. “They were separated at birth. They’re twins. They have the same attitude. Neither likes working in Hollywood. They’re both fascinated by fantasy and violence on the screen, and gore, and things that frighten you. They like going into the psyche. They’re both brilliant storytellers in very much the same way. And I think the script, because I have read it, plays very much to Guillermo’s strengths, as I’ve seen them. I have seen his other movies, and people act very well in them. So I think it’s all fine. And Peter will always be there.”

McKellen will be heading to New Zealand in March and will be there throughout 2010. He also knows who will be playing Bilbo Baggins, however he can’t reveal who, although he’s sure that the fans will be “very, very pleased”.

John Rhys-Davies won’t be appearing in The Hobbit

Liam — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 20:39:23 +0000

One of my favourite characters from The Lord of the Rings trilogy was Gimli, played by John Rhys-Davies. Gimli was the comic relief in-between all the epic battles and he had some great lines (”Nobody tosses a dwarf!”, “He’s dead because he’s go ma’ axe embedded in his nervous system!”). The character of Gimli will not be appearing in upcoming The Hobbit movies as he doesn’t appear in the book, however according to Empire Rhys-Davies was asked whether he would like to return to play another character, possibly Gimli’s father, Gloin.

“I’ve already been asked and to be honest with you, I wouldn’t. I have already completely ruled it out. There’s a sentimental part of me that would love to be involved again. Really I am not sure my face can take that sort of punishment any more.”
So not even a small cameo?
“Why would you want to do it if it was just a couple of shots? When you’ve been 1 of 1, why would you want to be 1 of 13?”
But the production did ask if he’d be interested in returning.
“It was just a gentle “What would you feel about putting it on again?” But no. I’d be interested in trying to create a different type of persona within… the thing. That is challenging as an actor. I’d really prefer to play something quite different. Maybe an Elf. They’ve got a different set of problems with The Hobbit because you’ve got 13 dwarves, a whole band of them… You’re trying to represent a whole race… You’re trying to do for dwarves what The Lord of the Rings did for hobbits. “

The 13 dwarves include Thorin Oakenshielf, Fili, Kili, Oin, Gloin, Dwalin, Balin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Dori, Nori and Ori. It would have been interesting if Rhys-Davies came back to play Gimli’s father, but I guess the role will have to be filled by another actor. I’ve no idea how Guillermo del Toro and Peter Jackson will handle all of the dwarves, but some will no doubt have bigger roles than others.

Ian McKellen on The Hobbit: “I played the best wizard”

Liam — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 18:02:39 +0000

Sir Ian McKellen has reached that stage in his career where he is presented with awards for his acting work over the many years he’s been in the business, and McKellen recently travelled to Spain for the San Sebastian Film Festival to collect such an award. While there Rotten Tomatoes got the chance to interview him and The Hobbit was obviously a key talking point.

…it was McKellen who raised the wizard’s name before we asked, rather controversially declaring to RT, “I don’t want to play Gandalf again.”
But before a million Rings fans cry out in terror at the thought of another thesp stepping into the role, McKellen was actually discussing the risk of typecasting the wake of a big success. “If you play a part that gets an awful lot of attention,” he explained, “forever after you’re being asked by directors to play the same part in their movie. But I played the best wizard, and I’m happy to revisit him, which I shall do in The Hobbit with Guillermo del Toro.”
“Grey Gandalf is my favourite,” he told us. “Peter Jackson’s too, we always preferred Gandalf the Grey. Peter liked him because he got down and dirty. He slept in the hedgerows; he was closer to the earth and not quite so spiritual. He’s also funnier — he’s got more variety to him. We thought there was more scope in that Gandalf.”

My favourite was Gandalf the White, probably because he was the one who we saw onscreen the most and he kicked Orc ass, however we only saw Gandalf the Grey during the first half of Fellowship of the Ring so it’ll be cool to see more of Gandalf pre-you shall not pass!

The Hobbit will begin filming next year, and Ian McKellen is expected to wield his staff again after 9 years when he travels to New Zealand in March.

Tolkien Trust and New Line settle Lord of the Rings lawsuit

Liam — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 19:31:46 +0000

According to TheOneRing.net The Tolkien Trust, New Line Cinema, and HarperCollins Publishers have resolved the lawsuit relating to The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The lawsuit was filled against New Line last year as The Tolkien Trust wanted their share of the profits. Everyone from director Peter Jackson to extras have sued New Line in the past. I guess that’s what happens when films make billions.

Commenting on the settlement, Christopher Tolkien said: “The Trustees regret that legal action was necessary, but are glad that this dispute has been settled on satisfactory terms that will allow the Tolkien Trust properly to pursue its charitable objectives. The Trustees acknowledge that New Line may now proceed with its proposed films of ‘The Hobbit.’”
Warner Bros.’ President & Chief Operating Officer Alan Horn said: “We deeply value the contributions of the Tolkien novels to the success of our films and are pleased to have put this litigation behind us. We all look forward to a mutually productive and beneficial relationship in the future.”

Now everything is sorted out The Hobbit can continue as normal. If the settlement dragged out or a deal wasn’t reached then it could have affected production on the upcoming Hobbit films. Thankfully filming can now start next March as originally planned.

Guillermo del Toro not thinking about filming Hobbit films in 3D

Liam — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 15:16:11 +0000

A few weeks ago word was flying around that The Hobbit films would be filmed in 3D. Upon hearing this TheOneRing.net threw up a poll asking if Tolkien fans wanted to see a three dimensional Middle Earth, and 75% of them said they didn’t (I agree with them). Then TheOneRing.net decided to ask director Guillermo del Toro if all this 3D talk was true:

Not wanting to disrupt the creative process going on around a pair of films based on “The Hobbit,” we nevertheless asked Guillermo del Toro just what exactly, if anything, was up with 3D Hobbit movies. Since he is the director of the films in question (you know, the guy who picks the director of photography, the cameras and formats and all that movie stuff) we thought he might know. Turns out he did and he told us, “I can safely say that, as of this moment, there are absolutely NO conversations about doing the HOBBIT films in 3D.”

Peter Jackson is a fan of 3D and will probably use it a lot in the future, having filmed Tintin in 3D, however it’s Guillermo del Toro who decides what’s happening. In my opinion Middle Earth is epic enough and doesn’t really need to be in 3D. What do you think?

Elijah Wood excited for The Hobbit

Liam — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 01:13:24 +0000

Even though Frodo probably won’t turn up in The Hobbit Elijah Wood was an important part of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, so whenever he starts talking about Middle Earth I listen. Elijah recently spoke to IESB.net while promoting 9 and he gave his thoughts on the upcoming films.

Q: As Frodo hasn’t been born yet, does that mean you won’t be in The Hobbit?
Elijah: Somebody actually asked me, “Would you want to play Bilbo?” No, I don’t want to play Bilbo. That would be far too weird. Yeah, Frodo doesn’t exist. He’s not born yet. For awhile, there was talk of a bridge film that was being bantered about, with the notion that the second film that they would make would chronologically bridge the gap between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, so conceivably some of the characters could exist. But, I don’t think that’s going to happen now.
Certainly, if they found a way to make the character work, I would love to be a part of it, but I’m just excited that they’re doing it. I’m so excited that they’re getting so many of the original team back together, creatively, because it’s really I think going to help to keep the continuity of what was already established. I think it’s going to be great. I love Guillermo del Toro. I think he’s amazing.
Q: Do you ever get tired of fans talking about The Lord of the Rings?
Elijah: Really, honestly, I don’t because it’s an experience that I hold so dear, and I love those movies, too. And, not only that, but I also understand why people are excited about them. I’ve got plenty of stories. I could sit around and talk for hours, and I honestly don’t get tired of it. I think I just have perspective on it. I know that, for the rest of my life, I’ll be asked about it, and I accept that. I thank God that I’m going to be asked about something that I think is really genuinely great, for the rest of my life. It was a great experience. Only positive things came out of it, so people can ask about it all they want.

Instead of spending $150+ million making a ‘bridge’ film to link the films and reunite the cast, they should just stick this brief scene after the credits:

Ian McKellen knows who’s playing Bilbo

Liam — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 17:52:53 +0000

According to /Film Ian McKellen recently attended an all-night showing of The Lord of the Rings trilogy and gave the crowd an update on The Hobbit.

Ian McKellen was present in person to intro the screenings, and while he only spoke for a very short time, he managed to get the crowd into something of a frenzy. Not only did he confirm that he’ll be coming back as Gandalf, and is expecting to start work on set in March of next year, he also dropped a bit of a casting bombshell. According to McKellen, the starring role of Bilbo Baggins has been successfully cast already. Not only that, but he knows who has the role and he’s sure that the fans will be very, very pleased. McKellen also revealed that he is expecting his own personal copy of “the script” within the next fortnight.

Last month Peter Jackson said that they won’t be revealing who’ll be playing Bilbo Beggins “for a little while” as they were still finishing the script. If what Ian McKellen says is correct they must have finished the first draft of the script and are getting the casting under way. Hopefully they’ll start letting us know who they’ve chosen soon!

Hobbiton rebuilding has begun!

Liam — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 23:21:16 +0000

The Hobbit is expected to begin filming next March and if these images are anything to go by it looks like New Line are starting to rebuild Hobbiton!

From TheOneRing.net:

The re-building of Hobbiton has begun, with the planting of hedgerows and fruit trees. An extension to the path that passes in front of Bag End has been marked out also. There will be several new Hobbit holes dotted along its length.

Click here to see more images of the site!

Those who have seen The Lord of the Rings trilogy (who hasn’t?) will know that this is the place where Bilbo Baggins, Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee live. Seeing it begin rebuilt makes me want to stick Fellowship of the Ring in my DVD player and relive the magic.